Turns 0
Best –
How to play
Goal
Find every matching pair of cards in as few turns as you can.
How it works
- All cards start face down. Each picture appears on exactly two cards.
- Each turn, tap two cards to turn them over.
- If they match, they stay face up. If not, they turn back over after a moment, so try to remember them.
- The game ends when every pair is found. Choose 12, 16 or 24 cards.
Tips
- Early on, turn over cards you haven't seen yet. Every new card is information.
- When your first card matches one you've already seen, go straight for that one.
- Say the pictures and their positions to yourself, like “moon, top left”. Words are easier to remember than images alone.
The history of Shinkei-suijaku
In Japan this game is called shinkei-suijaku, meaning “nervous breakdown”, a joke about how much it strains your concentration. It grew out of kai-awase, a game from the Heian period (around 1000 years ago) where players matched painted halves of clam shells. In English it is often called Concentration or Pairs.